1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is a tool useful for removing and installing plumbing parts and plumbing fixtures.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of different plumbing tools have long been available for use in installing and removing various plumbing fixtures, such as bathtub and sink drains. One such device has been sold by Pasco Specialty and Manufacturing, Inc., located in Lynnwood, Calif., as the SMART DUMBELL drain and closet spud installation and removal tool. This tool is about six inches long and is formed of an aluminum bar having enlargements at both ends. Fingers project longitudinally from these enlargements and fit into openings between radial spokes in a tub or sink drain. With the bar positioned upright and with the fingers of the tool projecting in between the radial spokes of the drain, the hexagonal shank of the bar is twisted with a pipe wrench to install or removed the drain. This tool is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,237,754 and has performed quite admirably throughout the years. However, is limited for use with only certain models tub drains and closet spuds.
Another conventional plumbing drain installation and removal tool is sold by Elftmann Brothers, located in Phoenix, Ariz., as the Ultimate Bathtub Drain Extracter and Installer. This tool operates on the principle of an expandable wedge in which a plurality of leaves or shoes are forced radially outwardly over the outwardly flared end of an elongated core by advancing an internally threaded nut having internal left-hand threads defined thereon along a corresponding cylindrical portion of the core having external left-hand threads defined thereon. The shoes are held in contact with the core by a resilient rubber O-ring that encircles the shoes and seats in grooves in the outer surfaces of the shoes. Advancement of the a nut against a washer located beneath the nut causes the shoes to be forced radially outwardly so that they frictionally engage the cylindrical wall of the drain. Rotation of the core with a wrench in one direction causes the drain to become unthreaded from the drain pipe to which it is attached. Rotation of the core with a wrench in the other direction advances the drain into engagement in the drain pipe since the universal standard in the industry is for the threaded engagement of plumbing parts by means of right-hand threads.
One significant disadvantage of the Ultimate Bathtub Drain Extracter and Installer Tool is that it is relatively easy for the O-ring to break, thus allowing the shoes to become detached from the other parts of the tool. Moreover, the shoes are rather small and can easily fall down the drain when this occurs. Not only is the tool thereafter inoperable, but the drain line is quite likely to become clogged as well.